Encoded information reading terminal with wireless path selecton capability

ABSTRACT

A portable encoded information reading (EIR) terminal for incorporation in a data collection system can comprise a terminal module communicatively coupled to a wireless interface module via a wired interface. The terminal module can include a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, and an encoded information reading (EIR) device. The wireless interface module can include a microcontroller, a memory, and at least one wireless communication interface. The wireless interface module can establish one or more wireless links with one or more peer EIR terminals, to join a wireless network which is collectively formed by the peer EIR terminals. The wireless interface module can receive or transmit beacons containing at least an identifier of a path selection protocol which is used for unicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within the wireless network.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/082,468 for an Encoded Information Reading Terminal WithWireless Path Selection Capability filed Nov. 18, 2013 (and publishedMar. 6, 2014 as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0061307),now U.S. Pat. No. 8,807,431, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/476,091 for an Encoded Information ReadingTerminal With Wireless Path Selection Capability filed May 21, 2012 (andpublished Nov. 22, 2012 as U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2012/0292384), now U.S. Pat. No. 8,584,945, which is a divisional ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/012,379 for an Encoded InformationReading Terminal With Wireless Path Selection Capability filed Jan. 24,2011 (and published Jul. 14, 2011 as U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2011/0168779), now U.S. Pat. No. 8,181,871, which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/985,329 for an EncodedInformation Reading Terminal With Wireless Path Selection Capabilityfiled Nov. 14, 2007 (and published May 14, 2009 as U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2009/0121021), now U.S. Pat. No. 7,874,483.Each of the foregoing patent applications, patent publications, andpatents is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is generally related to data collection systems employingencoded information reading (EIR) terminals and is specifically relatedto a system and method of wireless data communication in a datacollection system employing EIR terminals.

BACKGROUND

Encoded information reading (EIR) terminals equipped with wirelesscommunication interfaces are widely used in retail stores, shippingfacilities, etc. While wireless communication of EIR terminals with hostcomputers offer many advantages as compared to wired communications,traditional wireless networks have noticeable shortcomings, includingconnectivity and network throughput related issues, as well as the highcost of the wireless infrastructure. The connectivity-related issues canbe caused, e.g., by “dead zones” created by metal structures and thickreinforced concrete walls within buildings. Network throughput isusually limited by the number and capacity of wireless access points andwireless portals. Attempts to improve the connectivity and throughput byincreasing the number of wireless access point invariably lead tosubstantial growth of the infrastructure roll-out and maintenance costs.

Further, EIR terminals usually employ a power management schemeaccording to which a terminal would go to a sleeping state in theabsence of any inputs received from the terminal operator. A terminal ina sleeping state is usually not capable of receiving data framesincoming over the terminal's wireless communication interfaces, thusburdening the frame sender with the task of performing frame bufferingand retransmission attempts.

Accordingly, there is a need for further advances in EIR terminals andsystems which would alleviate the connectivity, network throughput,power management, and cost-related problems.

SUMMARY

A portable encoded information reading (EIR) terminal for incorporationin a data collection system can comprise a terminal modulecommunicatively coupled to a wireless interface module via a wiredinterface. The terminal module can include a central processing unit(CPU), a memory, and an encoded information reading (EIR) device. Thewireless interface module can include a microcontroller, a memory, andat least one wireless communication interface. The wireless interfacemodule can establish one or more wireless links with one or more peerEIR terminals, to join a wireless network which is collectively formedby the peer EIR terminals. The wireless interface module can receive ortransmit beacons containing at least an identifier of a path selectionprotocol which is used for unicast, multicast and broadcast frametransmission within the wireless network. The wireless interface module,responsive to receiving a MAC frame from the terminal module, canforward the MAC frame, according to the path selection protocol, to apeer EIR terminal or to a portal which is capable of routing MAC framesbetween the wireless network and one or more OSI layer 2 networks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings show aspectsof one or more embodiments of the invention. However, it should beunderstood that the present invention is not limited to the precisearrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a network-level view of a data collection systememploying EIR terminals according to the invention;

FIGS. 2 a-2 c illustrate a component diagram of an EIR terminalaccording to the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a network management frame structureaccording to the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of power management mode state transitionsimplemented by an EIR terminal according to the invention;

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate an exemplary hand held EIR terminalhousing;

FIGS. 6 a-6 c illustrate an exemplary portable and remountable EIRterminal housing;

FIG. 7 a illustrates a first exemplary deployment of an EIR terminalaccording to the invention within a retail store;

FIG. 7 b illustrates a second exemplary deployment of an EIR terminalaccording to the invention within a retail store;

FIGS. 7 c and 7 d illustrate PIN and signature data entry operationalmodes of an EIR terminal according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There is provided a data collection system comprising a plurality of EIRterminals and a plurality of host computers, interconnected by one ormore networks. An EIR terminal can include a central processing unit(CPU), an encoded information reading (EIR) device, and at least onewireless communication interface.

Under the teachings of the prior art, in order to allow Medium AccessControl (MAC) frames originated by a wireless communication interface ofan EIR terminal to be routed to a host computer which is connected to anon-wireless network, the EIR terminal must be in communication with awireless portal, the latter routing MAC frames between the wirelessnetwork and the non-wireless network. According to the invention, an EIRterminal can establish one or more wireless links with one or more peerEIR terminals, in order to join a wireless network which is collectivelyformed by a plurality of EIR terminals. An EIR terminal can route a MACframe received from one peer EIR terminal to another peer EIR terminalparticipating in the wireless network, to a wireless access point (AP)or a portal, so that the MAC frame can finally reach its destinationwithin or outside of the wireless network. Thus, in an environment wherethere is a number of EIR terminals according to the invention which areactive at any given time (e.g., a retail store floor), the requirementthat an EIR terminal wishing to establish a wireless communication witha host computer must be within the direct communication range of an APor a portal, can be eased, since the MAC frames originated by an EIRterminal which is not in the direct communication range of any AP orportal can be routed by one or more peer EIR terminals and/or wirelessAPs and/or portals to the final destination, which can be within oroutside the wireless network. Hence, considerable cost savings can berealized due to the reduced complexity of the required wirelessinfrastructure. Furthermore, employing EIR terminals according to theinvention can lead to the increased range and coverage of the wirelessnetwork, since participating EIR terminals can potentially cover largerarea than an area that would normally be covered by traditional wirelessAPs supporting the same number of wireless devices under the teachingsof the prior art. Besides, employing EIR terminals according to theinvention can lead to an increased overall reliability and throughput ofthe network, due to potential existence of multiple routesinterconnecting participating EIR terminals. Furthermore, employing EIRterminals according to the invention can lead to shortened roll-outperiods in establishing a new wireless infrastructure due to the reducednumber of wireless APs, portals, and associated cabling which need to beinstalled.

An exemplary embodiment of a data collection system according to theinvention is shown in FIG. 1. The data collection system 1000 caninclude EIR terminals 100 a-100 z interconnected by at least onewireless network 110. In one aspect, the wireless network 110 can act asan OSI layer 2 network implementing IEEE 802.2 Logical Link Control,i.e., can appear to be functionally equivalent to a broadcastEthernet-based LAN from the perspective of other networks and higherlevel protocols.

Now referring to attributes of EIR terminal 100 in further reference toFIG. 2, an EIR terminal 100 according to the invention can have aterminal module 201 and a wireless interface module 202 interconnectedby a wired interface 210.

The terminal module 201 can comprise a central processing unit (CPU) 251and a memory 252, both coupled to a system bus 259. In one embodiment,the CPU 251 can be provided by a general purpose microprocessor. Theterminal module 201 can further comprise one or more encoded informationreading (EIR) devices 253, including a bar code reading device, an RFIDreading device, and a card reading device, also coupled to the systembus 259. In one embodiment, an EIR reading device can be capable ofoutputting decoded message data corresponding to an encoded message. Inanother embodiment, the EIR reading device can output raw message datacontaining an encoded message, e.g., raw image data or raw RFID data, tobe processed by the CPU 251.

The terminal module 201 can further comprise a keyboard interface 254and a display adapter 255, both also coupled to the system bus 259.

The wireless interface module can include a CPU 262 and a memory 261,both coupled to the system bus 269. In one embodiment, the CPU 262 canbe provided by a microcontroller. The wireless interface module canfurther include one or more wireless communication interfaces 265, alsocoupled to the system bus 269.

In one embodiment, the EIR terminal 100 can further include a battery220. Both the terminal module 201 and the wireless interface module 202can be electrically coupled to the battery 220 via wirings 212 a and 212b.

In another embodiment, each of the terminal module 201 and the wirelessinterface module 202 can include its own battery. In one dual-batteryembodiment, if the wireless interface module battery becomes depleted,the wireless interface module can be powered by the terminal modulebattery, thus providing for uninterrupted operation of the wirelessinterface module. In another dual-battery embodiment, if the terminalmodule battery is depleted, the wireless interface module battery can beused to power the terminal module. Illustrative dual battery embodimentsare described in further detail herein infra.

The wireless interface module and the terminal module of an EIR terminalaccording to the invention can be connected by the wired interface 210,over which the terminal module can transmit outgoing data packets to thewireless interface module. The wired interface 210 can also be employedby the wireless interface module, responsive to receiving by thewireless interface module one or more MAC frames containing one or moredata packets addressed to the terminal module, to transmit the datapackets to the terminal module.

Referencing FIG. 1 again, the wireless network 110 can, in oneembodiment, include one or more wireless access points (AP) 140 a-140 binterconnected by a LAN 130. An AP can have at least one wirelesscommunication interface and can transport MAC frames within a networkcomprising a plurality of EIR terminals and two or more APsinterconnected via one or more LANs.

In another aspect, the data collection system 1000 can further includeone or more non-wireless networks (e.g., Ethernet local area networks(LANs)) 170 and 180. LAN 170 can be connected to a wide area network(WAN) 190, e.g., the Internet, via a router 150 a. LANs 170 and 180 canbe interconnected via a router 150 b. LAN 170 can include a plurality ofcomputers 171 a-171 z. LAN 180 can include a plurality of computers 181a-181 z.

The data collection system 1000 can, in one embodiment, further includeone or more portals. A portal 120 can route MAC frames between awireless network 110 and an OSI layer 2 network 170. In one embodiment,the OSI layer 2 network can be a non-wireless, e.g., Ethernet, network.In another embodiment, a portal equipped with two or more wirelessinterfaces or with one or more multi-channel wireless interfaces canroute frames between two or more wireless networks. In one embodiment,at least one access point can be collocated with a portal.

While different networks are designated herein, it is recognized that asingle network as seen from the network layer of the Open SystemsInterconnection (“OSI”) model can comprise a plurality of lower layernetworks, e.g., what can be regarded as a single Internet Protocol(“IP”) network, can include a plurality of different physical networks.

The EIR terminals 100 a-100 z of the data collection system 1000 can beinterconnected via wireless links and thus compose a wireless network110. In one aspect, a wireless interface module of an EIR terminal canjoin the wireless network 110 by establishing one or more wireless linkswith one or more peer EIR terminals, with an AP, or with a portal.

In one aspect, the wireless interface module of an EIR terminal canroute, in accordance with a path selection protocol, one or more MACframes received from a wireless interface module of a peer EIR terminal,an AP or a portal, and not addressed to the wireless interface module orthe terminal module of the first EIR terminal. In another aspect, thewireless interface module of an EIR terminal, responsive to receivingone or more data packets from the terminal module of the EIR terminal,can incorporate the data packets into one or more MAC frames and forwardthe MAC frames in accordance with the path selection protocol.

The path selection protocol can be used for unicast, multicast andbroadcast frame transmission within said wireless network. The pathselection protocol can determine a route in accordance to which a MACframe can be forwarded by a wireless interface module of an EIR terminalto a wireless interface module of a peer EIR terminal participating inthe wireless network, to an AP, or to one or more portals, so that theMAC frame can finally reach its destination within or outside of thewireless network.

In one embodiment, an EIR terminal can further comprise an Ethernetnetwork interface, over which the terminal be connected to the LAN 170(e.g., when the EIR terminal can be docked to a docking station). Thusthe EIR terminal can act as a portal by routing MAC frames received frompeer EIR terminals to LAN 170.

In one embodiment, the path selection protocol can implement pro-activerouting. A portal can broadcast a portal announcement containing a linkmetric (e.g., the number of hops from source to destination, or theround trip time from source to destination). An EIR terminal receivingthe portal announcement can increment the link metric and re-broadcastthe portal announcement. An EIR terminal receiving the portalannouncement can cache the identifiers (e.g., network addresses) of oneor more neighboring EIR terminals from which the portal announcement wasreceived. In one aspect, an EIR terminal can periodically transmit routerequest messages to the neighboring terminals whose identifiers werecached, in order to maintain the path to the portal. In another aspect,if an EIR terminal discovers that a connection is lost to a neighboringterminal whose identifier was previously cached, the EIR terminal cannotify the portal which, responsive to the notification, can update itsrouting information to the notifying EIR terminal.

Proactive routing can be particularly useful for wireless networks witha relatively large number of fixed infrastructure portals. Proactiverouting can provide the routing information in the most efficientmanner, by keeping the routing information current and not requiring anEIR terminal to transmit a routing request message before routing a MACframe, unless no cached routing entries can be found in the EIR terminalrouting table. However, in wireless networks which have a smaller numberof fixed infrastructure portals and thus are much more dependent on peerEIR terminals for routing MAC frames originated by an EIR terminal,proactive routing can be less effective due to the dynamic nature of thewireless network (spatial movement and on/off switching of EIRterminals) which can lead to cache table entries storing a large numberof routes which have become inactive. Thus, in wireless networks builtpredominantly upon mobile network clients and containing relativelysmall number of fixed infrastructure portals, the path selectionprotocol can implement on-demand routing. With on-demand routing, an EIRterminal can transmit route request messages to discover one or moreroutes from source to destination based on route reply messagesreceived. In one aspect, the routes can be compared to each other basedon a pre-defined link metric (e.g., the number of hops from source todestination, or the round trip time from source to destination). Inanother aspect, the discovered routes can be cached for later re-use.

In another embodiment, the path selection protocol can implement ahybrid routing method combining on-demand and pro-active routing.

In one embodiment, only one path selection protocol can be active at anypoint in time in a wireless network, to ensure that the most optimalpath selection protocol is used for a particular wireless network. Theonly one active path selection protocol limitation can also preventflooding the wireless network with excessive amount of routing requestsand responses, e.g., in a wireless network with a relatively largenumber of fixed infrastructure portals where a proactive routing-basedpath selection algorithm is implemented.

In one aspect, an efficient way of discovering the active path selectionprotocol by an EIR terminal joining a wireless network can be providedby the wireless network management function. The active path selectionprotocol can be identified by a path selection protocol identifier whichcan be provided an EIR terminal joining a wireless network together withother network management information.

In one embodiment, the active path selection protocol identifier can becontained within the network management frames transmitted by a portal,an AP, or a wireless interface module of a peer EIR terminal andreceived by the wireless interface module of an EIR terminal joining awireless network.

A network management frame can be included, e.g., in the beaconsperiodically transmitted by a portal, an AP, or a wireless interfacemodule of an EIR terminal, and can have a structure shown in FIG. 3. Thenetwork management frame 300 can comprise a frame type identifier field302. The frame type identifier field 302 can contain one of thepre-defined constant values identifying the frame type, e.g., 0x10 forpath selection protocol parameters frame. The network management frame300 can further comprise an active path selection protocol identifierfield 304. The active path selection protocol identifier field 304 cancontain one of the pre-defined constant values identifying the activepath selection protocol, e.g., 0x1001 for Hybrid Wireless Mesh Protocol(HWMP). The network management frame 300 can further comprise aparameter block size field 306. The parameter block size field 306 cancontain the size of the parameter block in bytes, e.g., 0x0004. Thenetwork management frame 300 can further comprise a path selectionprotocol parameter block field 308. The path selection protocolparameter block field 308 can contain one or more path selectionprotocol parameters, e.g., the recommended number of retries for a routerequest message.

In one aspect, a wireless network can switch to another path selectionprotocol to reflect a change in the network topology, e.g., a noticeableincrease in the number of EIR terminals participating in a wirelessnetwork employing a proactive routing-based path selection protocol, cantrigger a transition to an on-demand routing-based path selectionprotocol which can be more effective in the changed network topology.

In one embodiment, the features and advantages described herein supracan be yielded by an EIR terminal having a wireless interface moduleacting as an IEEE 802.11s-conformant mesh point. Hence, a wirelessnetwork 110 formed by EIR terminals acting as mesh points can provide aset of IEEE 802.11s-conformant mesh services, including the managementof the mesh and the transport of MAC frames. Mesh paths over thewireless IEEE 802.11 links can be established using a path selectionprotocol, for the transfer of MAC frames between the EIR terminalsparticipating in the wireless network.

In one aspect, an EIR terminal can choose to receive and transmitbeacons either as defined in the independent basic service set (IBSS)mode of operation or as defined in the infrastructure mode of operationin IEEE 802.11. In the IBSS mode of operation, the EIR terminal cantransmit a beacon if a beacon transmitted by another EIR terminal or anAP does not arrive within the beacon period plus a randomly selectedshort delay. In the infrastructure mode of operation, the EIR terminalcan transmit beacons periodically, with a pre-defined time interval.

In another aspect, an EIR terminal can implement a beacon collisionavoidance mechanism in order to reduce the chance that the terminalwould transmit a beacon frame at the same time as one of neighboringpeer terminals, portals, or APs. In one embodiment, an EIR terminal canimplement a beacon collision avoidance mechanism defined in IEEE 802-11sstandard. A terminal can select a target beacon transmission time (TBTT)that does not conflict with the neighboring peer terminals, portals orAPs. An EIR terminal can adjust its timing synchronization function(TSF) timer if the terminal discovers that its TBTT can collide with theTBTT of a neighboring peer terminal, a portal or an AP. An EIR terminalcan also occasionally delay its beacon frames by a pseudo-random periodof time. A skilled artisan would appreciate the fact that other beaconcollision avoidance mechanisms implemented by an EIR terminal are withinthe scope and spirit of the invention.

In a further aspect, the EIR terminal can implement an IEEE802.11s-conformant path selection protocol, e.g., the Hybrid WirelessMesh Protocol (HWMP). In one embodiment, the EIR terminal can furtherimplement a Radio-Aware Optimized Link State Routing (RA-OLSR) protocol.

In another aspect, an EIR terminal can support IEEE 802.11-conformantwireless station services, including authentication, deauthentication,privacy, and MAC service data unit (MSDU) delivery. Each of the servicesis briefly described herein infra.

Authentication: Physical security can not be effectively employed toprevent unauthorized access to a wireless network since the wirelessmedium does not have precise bounds. IEEE 802.11 provides the ability tocontrol network access via the authentication service. This service canbe used by all wireless devices to establish their identity to otherwireless devices with which they communicate. IEEE 802.11 supportsseveral authentication processes, but does not mandate the use of anyparticular authentication scheme. IEEE 802.11 provides link-levelauthentication between IEEE 802.11 wireless devices, e.g., a shared keyauthentication. In a shared key authentication system, identity isdemonstrated by knowledge of a shared secret encryption key.

Deauthentication: The deauthentication service is invoked whenever anexisting authentication is to be terminated.

Privacy: Any IEEE 802.11-conformant wireless device may hear all IEEE802.11 traffic that is within its radio range. Thus the connection of asingle wireless link (without privacy) to an existing wired LAN mayseriously degrade the security level of the wired LAN. To bring thefunctionality of the wireless LAN up to the level implicit in wired LANdesign, IEEE 802.11 provides the ability to encrypt the contents of MACframes. This functionality is provided by the privacy service. IEEE802.11 specifies an optional privacy algorithm, Wired Equivalent Privacy(WEP), which is designed to satisfy the goal of wired LAN “equivalent”privacy.

In one embodiment, an EIR terminal can further support IEEE802.11-conformant distribution system services, including association,disassociation, distribution, integration, and reassociation, and thusact as an AP. Each of the services is briefly described herein infra.

Association: To deliver a MAC frame within a wireless network, thedistribution service needs to know which access point (AP) or portal toaccess for the given wireless device. This information can be providedby the association service. Before a wireless device is allowed totransmit a MAC frame via an AP or a portal, it shall first becomeassociated with the AP or the portal. At any given time, a wirelessdevice can be associated with no more than one AP or portal. An AP or aportal may be associated with many wireless devices at one time.

Disassociation: The disassociation service is invoked whenever anexisting association is to be terminated. The disassociation service maybe invoked by either party to an association (wireless device or AP).

Distribution: the distribution service delivers the MAC frame within awireless network to the intended recipients.

Integration: If the distribution service determines that the intendedrecipient of a MAC frame is on a network integrated with the wirelessnetwork where the MAC frame originates, the MAC frame will need to berouted via a portal instead of an AP. The integration function isresponsible for accomplishing whatever is needed to deliver a MAC frameto the integrated network.

Reassociation: Association is sufficient for no-transition MAC framedelivery between IEEE 802.11 devices. Additional functionality is neededto support device transition mobility. The additional requiredfunctionality is provided by the reassociation service which is invokedto “move” a current association from one AP to another.

Power management control implemented by an EIR terminal according to theinvention is now described. In one aspect, the terminal module and thewireless interface module of an EIR according to the invention each canhave associated power management logic control and each can operate inpower save mode. Power management logic control of the terminal modulecan control the power consumption states of the terminal module betweenat least terminal module awake and terminal module sleeping states. Inone embodiment, power management logic control of the wireless interfacemodule can control the power consumption states of the wirelessinterface module between at least a wireless interface module awake anda wireless interface module sleeping states. In another embodiment, thewireless interface module can continuously operate in the wirelessinterface module awake state, e.g., by suspending the power managementcontrol functionality, or by having no power management control.

The EIR terminal according to the invention can be configured so thatdifferentiated sleeping states of the terminal module and the wirelessinterface module can be active at a given time.

Terminal module 201 operating in power save mode can switch into theterminal module sleeping state, e.g., upon expiration of a pre-definedtimeout since the last interaction with the terminal operator. In oneillustrative example the EIR terminal is capable of operating in a modein which the wireless interface module is in a wireless interface moduleawake state while the terminal module is in a terminal module sleepingstate, so that the EIR terminal conserves power without disrupting theoperation of the wireless interface module as a routing node of awireless mesh network.

In the terminal module sleeping state, the peripheral devices of theterminal module (e.g., a display) can be powered down. The CPU of theterminal module can be halted (e.g., by the HLT instruction for Intel®x86 family of processors), and thus driven into a reduced powerconsumption mode.

Terminal module 201 can transition from the terminal module sleepingstate to the terminal module awake state upon receiving an input via auser interface. The input can in turn trigger a hardware interruptcausing the terminal module CPU to resume processing. In anotherembodiment, a hardware interrupt awakening the terminal module CPU canbe triggered by a wireless interface module signaling over the wiredinterface 210 that a data frame addressed to the PDT has been received,thus causing the terminal module 201 to transition from the terminalmodule sleeping state to the terminal module awake state responsive toreceiving a data frame from the wireless interface module 202 over thewired interface 210.

A skilled artisan would appreciate the fact that other mechanisms of aCPU entering/exiting a low power consumption state are within the scopeand the spirit of the invention.

The wireless interface module 202 power management functionality is nowdescribed. In one embodiment, the wireless interface module power savestate transitions can be differentiated from the current power savestate of the terminal module, e.g., the terminal module can be in theterminal module sleeping state while the wireless interface module is inthe wireless interface module awake state, so that power is conserved bythe EIR terminal without disrupting participation of the wirelessinterface module in a wireless mesh network. In another aspect, theterminal module can be in the terminal module awake state while thewireless interface module is in the wireless interface module sleepingstate. In a further aspect, the wireless interface module and theterminal module can be in the wireless interface module awake state andthe terminal module awake state, respectively. In a further aspect, thewireless interface module and the terminal module can be in the wirelessinterface module sleeping state and the terminal module sleeping state,respectively.

In one aspect, the wireless interface module responsive to receiving oneor more MAC frames containing at least one data packet addressed to theterminal module can transmit the data packet to the terminal module overthe wired interface 210, thus triggering a hardware interrupt which cancause the terminal module to transition to the terminal module awakestate, if the terminal module was in the terminal module sleeping state.In another aspect, the wireless interface module in the wirelessinterface module sleeping state can transition to the wireless interfacemodule awake state responsive to receiving a data packet from theterminal module over the wired interface 210.

In another embodiment, the wireless interface module can continuouslyoperate in the wireless interface module awake state, e.g., bysuspending the power management control functionality, or by having nopower management control.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of power management mode state transitionsthat can be implemented by the terminal module and the wirelessinterface module of an EIR terminal according to the invention.

Terminal module 201 of the EIR terminal 100 can implement a powermanagement scheme, according to which the terminal module wouldtransition from terminal module awake state 410 to terminal modulesleeping state 420 upon expiration of a pre-defined timeout since thelast interaction with the terminal operator (state transition 412). Theterminal module 201 can remain in the terminal module sleeping state 420until one of the two events occurs which would cause the terminal module201 to transition to the terminal module awake state 410: a userinterface interaction (state transition 414) or a data frame receivedfrom the wireless interface module 202 (state transition 416).

Wireless interface module 202 of the EIR terminal 100 can implement apower management scheme, according to which the wireless interfacemodule would transition from wireless interface module awake state 430to the wireless interface module sleeping state 440 upon satisfaction ofone of the state transition conditions specified in IEEE 802.11 (statetransition 432). The wireless interface module 202 can remain in thewireless interface module sleeping state 440 until one of the eventsoccurs which would cause the wireless interface module 202 to transitionto the wireless interface module awake state 430: satisfaction of one ofthe state transition conditions specified in IEEE 802.11 (statetransition 434) or a data frame received from the terminal module 202(state transition 436).

Battery optimization functionality of the EIR terminal according to theinvention is now described. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 2 a, the EIRterminal 100 can include a battery 220 supplying AC power to bothterminal module 201 and wireless interface module 202, which can beelectrically coupled to the battery 220 via respective wirings 212 a and212 b. In another embodiment, each of the terminal module 201 andwireless interface module 202 can include its own battery.

In one dual-battery embodiment shown in FIG. 2 b, the terminal module201 can be electrically coupled to the terminal module battery 220 a viawirings 212 a, and the wireless interface module 202 can be electricallycoupled to the switch 214. In a normal operation, the switch canelectrically couple the wireless interface module 202 to the wirelessinterface module battery 220 b via wirings 212 b. If the wirelessinterface module battery 220 b becomes depleted, the switch 214 canswitch the wireless interface module 202 to the terminal module battery220 a via wirings 212 c, thus providing for uninterrupted operation ofthe wireless interface module.

In another dual-battery embodiment shown in FIG. 2 c, both the terminalmodule 201 and the wireless interface module 202 can be electricallycoupled to the switch 214. The switch 214, in turn, can be electricallycoupled to both the terminal module battery 220 a and the wirelessinterface module battery 220 b. In a normal operation, the switch canelectrically couple the wireless interface module 202 to the wirelessinterface module battery 220 b via wirings 212 c, and electricallycouple the terminal module 201 to the terminal module battery viawirings 212 d. If the wireless interface module battery 220 b becomesdepleted, the switch 214 can switch the wireless interface module 202 tothe terminal module battery 220 a via wirings 212 d, thus providing foruninterrupted operation of the wireless interface module. If theterminal module battery 220 a becomes depleted, the switch 214 canswitch the terminal module 201 to the wireless interface module battery220 b via wirings 212 c, thus providing for uninterrupted operation ofthe terminal module.

In one embodiment, the switch 214 can be configured to operate in afully automatic switching mode, by performing the switchingfunctionality described supra based upon monitoring, e.g., the voltagelevels of batteries 220 a and 220 b. In another embodiment, the switch214 can be controllable by the EIR terminal operator, e.g., via agraphical user interface (GUI). In a further embodiment, the switch canbe controllable by a software program executed by the CPU 251.

Form factors and housings for the EIR terminal according to theinvention are now being described. The components of device 100 can beincorporated into a variety of different housings. As indicated by theembodiment of FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, the components of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b canbe incorporated into a hand held housing 101. EIR terminal 100 of FIGS.5 a and 5 b is in the form factor of a hand held portable data terminal.EIR terminal 100 as shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b includes a keyboard 1090,a display 504 having an associated touch screen overlay, a card reader1348, and an imaging module 360 which includes the components of imagingassembly as described herein; namely, image sensor array incorporated onan image sensor IC chip. Imaging module 360 has an associated imagingaxis, a_(i). As indicated by the side view of FIG. 5 b, the componentsof the block diagram of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b may be supported withinhousing 101 on a plurality of circuit boards 1077. Imaging module 360may include an image sensor array having color sensitive pixels asdescribed in Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/687,606, filed Jun.3, 2005, 60/690,268, filed Jun. 14, 2005, 60/692,890, filed Jun. 22,2005, and 60/694,371, filed Jun. 27, 2005, all of which are entitledDigital Picture Taking Optical Reader Having Hybrid Monochrome And ColorImage Sensor, and all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 a-6 c, the EIR terminal 100 is in the formof a transaction terminal which may be configured as a retail purchasetransaction terminal or as a price verifier. Housing 102 of thetransaction terminal shown in FIGS. 6 a-6 c is configured to be portableso that it can be moved from location to location and is furtherconfigured to be replaceably mounted on a fixed structure such as afixed structure of a cashier station or a fixed structure of the retailstore floor (e.g., a shelf, a column 264 best viewed in FIG. 7 b).Referring to bottom view of FIG. 6 c, the housing 102 of the EIRterminal 100 has formations 268 facilitating the replaceable mounting ofEIR terminal 100 on a fixed structure. Referring now to FIG. 6 b, EIRterminal 100 includes a display 504 having an associated touch screen504T, a card reader 1348, an imaging module 360, and a luminous shroud362. When light from the illumination block (not shown in FIG. 6)strikes luminous shroud 362, the shroud glows to attract attention tothe location of imaging assembly. In certain operating modes asindicated in FIG. 7 c, the EIR terminal 100 in accordance with any ofFIGS. 5 a-6 c, displays on display 504 a PIN entry screen prompting acustomer to enter PIN information into touch screen 504T. In otheroperating modes, as indicated in FIG. 7 d, the EIR terminal 100 displayson display 504 a signature prompt screen prompting a customer to entersignature information into the device with use of a stylus 505.

Referring to FIGS. 7 a and 7 b, various installation configurations forthe EIR terminal of FIGS. 5 a-6 c are shown. In the view of FIG. 7 a,the EIR terminal 100 is installed as a retail purchase transactionterminal at a point of sale cashier station. In the setup of FIG. 7 a,the EIR terminal 100 is configured as a retail purchase transactionterminal and is utilized to aid and facilitate retail transactions at apoint of sale. A customer may enter a credit card or a debit card intocard reader 1348 and retail purchase transaction terminal 100R maytransmit the credit card information to credit/debit authorizationnetwork.

In the view of FIG. 7 b, the EIR terminal 100 is configured as a priceverifier to aid customers in checking prices of products located on astore floor. EIR terminal 100 may be mounted on a shelf (not shown inFIG. 7 b) or on a column 264 or other fixed structure of the retailstore. EIR terminal 100 may decode bar code data from bar codes on storeproducts and transmit decoded out bar code messages to a store serverfor lookup of price information which is sent back from the store serverto terminal 100 for display on display 504.

By combining a terminal module and a wireless interface module within asingle EIR terminal according to the invention, all the advantagesaccorded by employing wireless EIR terminals can be fully realized, andthe cost of deploying and supporting of the wireless infrastructure canbe dramatically decreased, by minimizing the number of wireless APs andportals needed to provide the wireless connectivity to a fleet ofportable EIR terminals. Furthermore, employing EIR terminals accordingto the invention can increase the range of wireless network coverage ascompared to traditional wireless network with fixed APs and portals, aswell as improve the network reliability since a mesh network can providemultiple network paths connecting any given wireless EIR terminal to anAP, a portal, or a peer EIR terminal. The availability of multiplenetwork paths can also cause increasing of the overall networkthroughput.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to certain exemplary embodiments, it will be understoodby one skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be affectedtherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by claims that can be supported by the written description anddrawings. Further, where exemplary embodiments are described withreference to a certain number of elements it will be understood that theexemplary embodiments can be practiced utilizing less than the certainnumber of elements.

A small sample of systems methods and apparatus that are describedherein is as follows:

A1. There is provided a portable encoded information reading (EIR)terminal for incorporation in a data collection system having aplurality of peer EIR terminals, said plurality of peer EIR terminalcollectively forming a wireless network, said wireless network being anOSI layer 2 network, said wireless network comprising zero or morewireless access points, said wireless network further comprising zero ormore portals, each portal routing MAC frames between said wirelessnetwork and at least one OSI layer 2 network, said EIR terminalcomprising: a terminal module including a central processing unit (CPU),a memory, and an encoded information reading (EIR) device selected fromthe group consisting of a bar code reading device, an RFID readingdevice, and a card reading device, said EIR device configured to performone of: outputting raw message data containing an encoded message,outputting decoded message data corresponding to an encoded message; anda wireless interface module communicatively coupled to said terminalmodule via a wired interface, said wireless interface module including amicrocontroller, a memory, and at least one wireless communicationinterface; wherein said wireless interface module establishes one ormore wireless links with one or more EIR terminals of said plurality ofpeer EIR terminals, to join said wireless network; wherein said wirelessinterface module performs at least one of: receiving beacons,transmitting beacons, said beacons containing at least an identifier ofa path selection protocol, said path selection protocol being used forunicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within said wirelessnetwork; wherein said wireless interface module, responsive to receivingone or more data packets from said terminal module, incorporates saidone or more data packets into one or more MAC frames and forwards saidone or more MAC frames, according to said path selection protocol, toone of: a peer EIR terminal, a wireless access point, one or more ofsaid portals; and wherein said wireless interface module, responsive toreceiving one or more MAC frames, said one or more MAC frames containingone or more data packet addressed to said terminal module, transmitssaid one or more data packets to said terminal module.A2. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (A1), wherein saidreceiving beacons and transmitting beacons is performed according to oneof: IEEE 802.11 Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) mode of operation,IEEE 802.11 infrastructure mode of operation.A3. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (A1), wherein saidwireless interface module performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wirelessstation services including authentication, de-authentication, privacy,and MAC service data unit delivery; and wherein said wireless interfacemodule further performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wireless distributionsystem services including association, disassociation, distribution,integration, and re-association.A4. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (A1), wherein saidwireless interface module employs a power management scheme forcontrolling power management states of said wireless interface module atleast between a wireless interface module awake state and a wirelessinterface module sleeping state; wherein said terminal module employs apower management scheme for controlling power management states of saidterminal module at least between a terminal module awake state and aterminal module sleeping state; and wherein said EIR terminal is capableof operating in a mode in which said terminal module is in said terminalmodule sleeping state and said wireless interface module is in saidwireless interface module awake state in such manner that power isconserved by said EIR terminal without disrupting participation of saidwireless interface module in said mesh network.A5. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (A1), wherein saidwireless interface module employs a power management scheme forcontrolling power management states of said wireless interface module atleast between a wireless interface module awake state and a wirelessinterface module sleeping state; wherein said terminal module employs apower management scheme for controlling power management states of saidterminal module at least between a terminal module awake state and aterminal module sleeping state; and wherein said wireless interfacemodule causes said terminal module to exit said terminal module sleepingstate by transmitting at least one data packet to said terminal module.A6. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (A1), wherein saidwireless interface module employs a power management scheme forcontrolling power management states of said wireless interface module atleast between a wireless interface module awake state and a wirelessinterface module sleeping state; wherein said terminal module employs apower management scheme for controlling power management states of saidterminal module at least between a terminal module awake state and aterminal module sleeping state; and wherein said terminal module causessaid wireless interface module to exit said wireless interface modulesleeping state by transmitting at least one data packet to said wirelessinterface module.A7. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (A1), wherein saidterminal module includes a first battery; wherein said wirelessinterface module includes a second battery; and wherein said firstbattery is used to power said wireless interface module responsive tosaid second battery depletion, thus providing for uninterruptedoperation of said wireless interface module.A8. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (A1), wherein said pathselection protocol is the only path selection protocol being used forunicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within said wirelessnetwork.B1. In addition, there is provided a portable encoded informationreading (EIR) terminal for incorporation in a data collection systemhaving a plurality of peer EIR terminals, said plurality of peer EIRterminal collectively forming a wireless network, said wireless networkbeing an OSI layer 2 network, said wireless network comprising zero ormore wireless access points, said wireless network further comprisingzero or more portals, each portal routing MAC frames between saidwireless network and at least one OSI layer 2 network, said EIR terminalcomprising: a terminal module including a central processing unit (CPU),a memory, and an encoded information reading (EIR) device selected fromthe group consisting of a bar code reading device, an RFID readingdevice, and a card reading device, said EIR device configured to performone of: outputting raw message data containing an encoded message,outputting decoded message data corresponding to an encoded message; anda wireless interface module communicatively coupled to said terminalmodule via a wired interface, said wireless interface module including amicrocontroller, a memory, and at least one wireless communicationinterface; wherein said wireless interface module establishes one ormore wireless links with one or more EIR terminals of said plurality ofpeer EIR terminals, to join said wireless network; wherein said wirelessinterface module employs a power management scheme for controlling powermanagement states of said wireless interface module at least between awireless interface module awake state and a wireless interface modulesleeping state; wherein said terminal module employs a power managementscheme for controlling power management states of said terminal moduleat least between a terminal module awake state and a terminal modulesleeping state; and wherein said EIR terminal is capable of operating ina mode in which said terminal module is in said terminal module sleepingstate and said wireless interface module is in said wireless interfacemodule awake state in such manner that power is conserved by said EIRterminal without disrupting participation of said wireless interfacemodule in said mesh network.B2 There is also provided the EIR terminal of (B1), wherein saidwireless interface module performs at least one of: receiving beacons,transmitting beacons, said beacons containing at least an identifier ofa path selection protocol, said path selection protocol being used forunicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within said wirelessnetwork.B3. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (B1), wherein saidwireless interface module, responsive to receiving one or more datapackets from said terminal module, incorporates said one or more datapackets into one or more MAC frames and forwards said one or more MACframes to one of: a peer EIR terminal, a wireless access point, one ormore of said portals.B4. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (B1), wherein saidwireless interface module, responsive to receiving one or more MACframes, said one or more MAC frames containing one or more data packetaddressed to said terminal module, transmits said one or more datapackets to said terminal module.B5. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (B1), wherein saidwireless interface module performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wirelessstation services including authentication, de-authentication, privacy,and MAC service data unit delivery; and wherein said wireless interfacemodule further performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wireless distributionsystem services including association, disassociation, distribution,integration, and re-association.B6. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (B1), wherein saidwireless interface module continuously operates in said wirelessinterface module awake state.C1. In addition, there is provided a portable encoded informationreading (EIR) terminal for incorporation in a data collection systemhaving a plurality of peer EIR terminals, said plurality of peer EIRterminal collectively forming a wireless network, said wireless networkbeing an OSI layer 2 network, said wireless network comprising zero ormore wireless access points, said wireless network further comprisingzero or more portals, each portal routing MAC frames between saidwireless network and at least one OSI layer 2 network, said EIR terminalcomprising: a terminal module including a central processing unit (CPU),a memory, and an encoded information reading (EIR) device selected fromthe group consisting of a bar code reading device, an RFID readingdevice, and a card reading device, said EIR device configured to performone of: outputting raw message data containing an encoded message,outputting decoded message data corresponding to an encoded message; anda wireless interface module communicatively coupled to said terminalmodule via a wired interface, said wireless interface module including amicrocontroller, a memory, and at least one wireless communicationinterface; wherein said wireless interface module establishes one ormore wireless links with one or more EIR terminals of said plurality ofpeer EIR terminals, to join said wireless network; wherein said wirelessinterface module employs a power management scheme for controlling powermanagement states of said wireless interface module at least between awireless interface module awake state and a wireless interface modulesleeping state; wherein said terminal module employs a power managementscheme for controlling power management states of said terminal moduleat least between a terminal module awake state and a terminal modulesleeping state; wherein said wireless interface module causes saidterminal module to exit said terminal module sleeping state bytransmitting at least one data packet to said terminal module; andwherein said terminal module causes said wireless interface module toexit said wireless interface module sleeping state by transmitting atleast one data packet to said wireless interface module.C2. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (C1), wherein saidwireless interface module performs at least one of: receiving beacons,transmitting beacons, said beacons containing at least an identifier ofa path selection protocol, said path selection protocol being used forunicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within said wirelessnetwork.C3. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (C1), wherein saidwireless interface module, responsive to receiving one or more datapackets from said terminal module, incorporates said one or more datapackets into one or more MAC frames and forwards said one or more MACframes to one of: a peer EIR terminal, a wireless access point, one ormore of said portals.C4. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (C1), wherein saidwireless interface module, responsive to receiving one or more MACframes, said one or more MAC frames containing one or more data packetaddressed to said terminal module, transmits said one or more datapackets to said terminal module.C5. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (C1), wherein saidwireless interface module performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wirelessstation services including authentication, de-authentication, privacy,and MAC service data unit delivery; and wherein said wireless interfacemodule further performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wireless distributionsystem services including association, disassociation, distribution,integration, and re-association.D1. In addition, there is provided a portable encoded informationreading (EIR) terminal for incorporation in a data collection systemhaving a plurality of peer EIR terminals, said plurality of peer EIRterminal collectively forming a wireless network, said wireless networkbeing an OSI layer 2 network, said wireless network comprising zero ormore wireless access points, said wireless network further comprisingzero or more portals, each portal routing MAC frames between saidwireless network and at least one OSI layer 2 network, said EIR terminalcomprising: a terminal module including a first battery, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a memory, and an encoded information reading(EIR) device selected from the group consisting of a bar code readingdevice, an RFID reading device, and a card reading device, said EIRdevice configured to perform one of: outputting raw message datacontaining an encoded message, outputting decoded message datacorresponding to an encoded message; and a wireless interface modulecommunicatively coupled to said terminal module via a wired interface,said wireless interface module including a second battery, amicrocontroller, a memory, and at least one wireless communicationinterface; wherein said wireless interface module establishes one ormore wireless links with one or more EIR terminals of said plurality ofpeer EIR terminals, to join said wireless network; and wherein saidfirst battery is used to power said wireless interface module responsiveto said second battery depletion, thus providing for uninterruptedoperation of said wireless interface module.D2. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (D1), wherein saidwireless interface is electrically coupled to a switching means; whereinin a normal operation, said switching means electrically couple saidwireless interface module to said second battery; and wherein saidswitching means conditionally, upon depletion of said second battery,electrically couple said wireless interface module to said firstbattery.D3. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (D1), wherein saidwireless interface is electrically coupled to a switching means; whereinin a normal operation, said switching means electrically couple saidterminal module to said first battery; and wherein said switching meansconditionally, upon depletion of said first battery, electrically couplesaid terminal module to said second battery.D4. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (D1), wherein saidwireless interface module performs at least one of: receiving beacons,transmitting beacons, said beacons containing at least an identifier ofa path selection protocol, said path selection protocol being used forunicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within said wirelessnetwork.D5. There is also provided the EIR terminal of (D1), wherein saidwireless interface module performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wirelessstation services including authentication, de-authentication, privacy,and MAC service data unit delivery; wherein said wireless interfacemodule further performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wireless distributionsystem services including association, disassociation, distribution,integration, and re-association.E1. In addition, there is provided a data collection system comprising aplurality of encoded information reading (EIR) terminals, each of saidEIR terminals comprising a terminal module including a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a memory, and an encoded information reading(EIR) device selected from the group consisting of a bar code readingdevice, an RFID reading device, and a card reading device, said EIRdevice configured to perform one of: outputting raw message datacontaining an encoded message, outputting decoded message datacorresponding to an encoded message; each of said EIR terminals furthercomprising a wireless interface module communicatively coupled to saidterminal module via a wired interface, said wireless interface moduleincluding a CPU, a memory, and at least one wireless communicationinterface; wherein said plurality of EIR terminals collectively form awireless network in which each EIR terminal is directly connected via awireless link to one or more peer EIR terminals, said wireless networkbeing an OSI layer 2 network, said wireless network comprising zero ormore wireless access points, said wireless network further comprisingzero or more portals, each portal routing MAC frames between saidwireless network and at least one OSI layer 2 network; wherein saidwireless interface modules of at least three EIR terminals of saidplurality of EIR terminals performs at least one of: receiving beacons,transmitting beacons, said beacons containing at least an identifier ofa path selection protocol, said path selection protocol being used forunicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within said wirelessnetwork; wherein a wireless interface module of a first EIR terminal,responsive to receiving one or more MAC frames from a wireless interfacemodule of a second EIR terminal, said one or more MAC frames containingone or more data packet addressed to said terminal module of said firstEIR terminal, transmits said one or more data packets to said terminalmodule of said first EIR terminal; and wherein a wireless interfacemodule of a first EIR terminal, responsive to receiving one or more MACframes from a wireless interface module of a second EIR terminal, saidone or more MAC frames not addressed to said wireless interface moduleor said terminal module of said first EIR terminal, forwards said one ormore MAC frames, according to said path selection protocol, to one of: awireless interface module of a third EIR terminal, a wireless accesspoint, one or more of said portals.E2. There is also provided the data collection system of (E1), whereinsaid wireless interface modules of said at least three EIR terminals ofsaid plurality of EIR terminals perform IEEE 802.11-conformant wirelessstation services including authentication, de-authentication, privacy,and MAC service data unit delivery; and wherein said wireless interfacemodules of said at least three EIR terminals of said plurality of EIRterminals further perform IEEE 802.11-conformant wireless distributionsystem services including association, disassociation, distribution,integration, and re-association.E3. There is also provided the data collection system of (E1), whereinwireless interface module performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wirelessstation services including authentication, de-authentication, privacy,and MAC service data unit delivery; and wherein said wireless interfacemodule further performs IEEE 802.11-conformant wireless distributionsystem services including association, disassociation, distribution,integration, and re-association.E4. There is also provided the data collection system of (E1), whereinat least one said wireless access point is collocated with at least onesaid portal.E5. There is also provided the data collection system of (E1), wherein afirst EIR terminal further comprises an Ethernet network interface, saidfirst EIR terminal connecting to a local area network (LAN) over saidEthernet network interface; and wherein said first EIR terminal,responsive to receiving one or more MAC frames from a wireless interfacemodule of a second EIR terminal, said one or more MAC frames notaddressed to said wireless interface module or said terminal module ofsaid first EIR terminal, forwards said one or more MAC frames to saidLAN via said Ethernet network interface.E6. There is also provided the data collection system of (E1), whereinsaid path selection protocol is the only path selection protocol beingused for unicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within saidwireless network.

While the present invention has been described with reference to anumber of specific embodiments, it will be understood that the truespirit and scope of the invention should be determined only with respectto claims that can be supported by the present specification. Further,while in numerous cases herein systems and apparatuses and methods aredescribed as having a certain number of elements, it will be understoodthat such systems, apparatuses and methods can be practiced with fewerthan the mentioned certain number of elements.

1. An encoded information reading (EIR) terminal, comprising: a terminalmodule including a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, and anencoded information reading (EIR) device selected from the groupconsisting of a bar code reading device, an RFID reading device, and acard reading device, the EIR device configured to output raw messagedata; a wireless interface module communicatively coupled to theterminal module via a wired interface, the wireless interface moduleincluding a microcontroller, a memory, and at least one wirelesscommunication interface; wherein the wireless interface module isconfigured to establish one or more wireless links with one or more peerEIR terminals to join a wireless network of peer EIR terminals; andwherein the wireless interface module is configured, responsive toreceiving a portal announcement, to cache one or more network addressesof devices having originated the portal announcement.
 2. The terminal ofclaim 1, wherein the wireless interface module is configured, responsiveto receiving one or more data packets from the terminal module, toincorporate the one or more data packets into one or more MAC frames andforward the one or more MAC frames to a peer EIR terminal, a wirelessaccess point, or one or more portals.
 3. The terminal of claim 1,wherein the wireless interface module is configured, responsive toreceiving one or more MAC frames containing one or more data packetsaddressed to the terminal module, to transmit the one or more datapackets to the terminal module.
 4. The terminal of claim 1, wherein thewireless interface module is configured to periodically transmit a routerequest message to the one or more network addresses.
 5. The terminal ofclaim 1, wherein: the wireless interface module is configured to:periodically transmit a route request message to the one or more networkaddresses; and responsive to establishing that a connection to at leastone address of the one or more network addresses is lost, to transmit anotification to a portal having originated the portal announcement. 6.The terminal of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface module isconfigured, responsive to receiving a portal announcement including alink metric, to re-broadcast the portal announcement.
 7. The terminal ofclaim 1, wherein the wireless interface module performs; IEEE802.11-conformant wireless station services comprising authentication,de-authentication, privacy, and MAC service data unit delivery; and IEEE802.11-conformant wireless distribution system services comprisingassociation, disassociation, distribution, integration, andre-association.
 8. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the wirelessinterface module is configured to perform at least one of receivingbeacons and transmitting beacons, the beacons containing at least anidentifier of a path selection protocol, the path selection protocolbeing used for unicast, multicast, and broadcast frame transmissionwithin the wireless network.
 9. The terminal of claim 8, wherein thepath selection protocol is the only path selection protocol being usedfor unicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within thewireless network.
 10. The terminal of claim 8, wherein the receiving ofbeacons and transmitting of beacons is performed according to IEEE802.11 Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) mode of operation or IEEE802.11 infrastructure mode of operation.
 11. An encoded informationreading (EIR) terminal, comprising: a terminal module including acentral processing unit (CPU), a memory, and an encoded informationreading (EIR) device selected from the group consisting of a bar codereading device, an RFID reading device, and a card reading device, theEIR device configured to output raw message data; a wireless interfacemodule communicatively coupled to the terminal module via a wiredinterface, the wireless interface module including a microcontroller, amemory, and at least one wireless communication interface; wherein thewireless interface module is configured to establish one or morewireless links with one or more peer EIR terminals to join a wirelessnetwork of peer EIR terminals; and wherein the wireless interface moduleis configured to implement an on-demand routing method, a proactiverouting method, and/or a hybrid routing method.
 12. The terminal ofclaim 11, wherein the wireless interface module is configured toimplement the on-demand routing method by transmitting, responsive toreceiving from the terminal module one or more data packets addressed toan external device having a network address, one or more route requestmessages to determine one or more routes to the network address based onone or more route reply messages received.
 13. The terminal of claim 12,wherein the wireless interface module is configured to compare the oneor more routes based on a pre-defined link metric.
 14. The terminal ofclaim 11, wherein the wireless interface module is configured toimplement the proactive routing method by caching one or more networkaddresses of devices having originated a portal announcement.
 15. Theterminal of claim 11, wherein the wireless interface module isconfigured, responsive to receiving one or more data packets from theterminal module, to incorporate the one or more data packets into one ormore MAC frames and forward the one or more MAC frames to a peer EIRterminal, a wireless access point, or one or more portals.
 16. Theterminal of claim 11, wherein the wireless interface module isconfigured, responsive to receiving one or more MAC frames containingone or more data packets addressed to the terminal module, to transmitthe one or more data packets to the terminal module.
 17. The terminal ofclaim 11, wherein the wireless interface module performs; IEEE802.11-conformant wireless station services comprising authentication,de-authentication, privacy, and MAC service data unit delivery; and IEEE802.11-conformant wireless distribution system services comprisingassociation, disassociation, distribution, integration, andre-association.
 18. The terminal of claim 11, wherein the wirelessinterface module is configured to perform at least one of receivingbeacons and transmitting beacons, the beacons containing at least anidentifier of a path selection protocol, the path selection protocolbeing used for unicast, multicast, and broadcast frame transmissionwithin the wireless network.
 19. The terminal of claim 18, wherein thepath selection protocol is the only path selection protocol being usedfor unicast, multicast and broadcast frame transmission within thewireless network.
 20. The terminal of claim 18, wherein the receiving ofbeacons and transmitting of beacons is performed according to IEEE802.11 Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) mode of operation or IEEE802.11 infrastructure mode of operation.